The present invention relates to a brewer for brewing a beverage, such as tea or coffee, and, more particularly, to a brew basket for a brewer that allows for an adjustable flow rate, thus controlling the strength and/or quality of the brewed beverage.
In a common brewer, a brew basket holds a quantity of tea, ground coffee, or similar beverage component below a spray head. The brewer includes a plumbing system in which water is drawn from a water reservoir (or from another water source). As water is drawn from the reservoir and into a hot water tank, hot water is forced from the hot water tank to a spray head. The spray head distributes the hot water over and through the quantity of tea, ground coffee, or similar beverage component, and the brewed beverage is dispensed through an outlet orifice (or drain hole) into a cup or similar receptacle.
With respect to such an outlet orifice in the brew basket, by varying the size of the outlet orifice, the flow rate through the brew basket can be altered. Specifically, the time the hot water spends in contact with the beverage component (i.e., the steep time) can be changed. For example, with a limited flow rate through the beverage component, the hot water stays in contact with the beverage component for a longer period of time, increasing the strength of the brewed beverage. However, in most cases, the size of the outlet orifice cannot be readily altered.